The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" -- which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies -- has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.

Over the years, market developments have proven the wisdom of Graham's strategies. While preserving the integrity of Graham's original text, this revised edition includes updated commentary by noted financial journalist Jason Zweig, whose perspective incorporates the realities of today's market, draws parallels between Graham's examples and today's financial headlines, and gives readers a more thorough understanding of how to apply Graham's principles.

Vital and indispensable, this HarperBusiness Essentials edition of The Intelligent Investor is the most important book you will ever read on how to reach your financial goals.

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Product Description

From Amazon

Among the library of investment books promising no-fail strategies for riches, Benjamin Graham's classic, The Intelligent Investor, offers no guarantees or gimmicks but overflows with the wisdom at the core of all good portfolio management.

The hallmark of Graham's philosophy is not profit maximization but loss minimization. In this respect, The Intelligent Investor is a book for true investors, not speculators or day traders. He provides, "in a form suitable for the laymen, guidance in adoption and execution of an investment policy" (1). This policy is inherently for the longer term and requires a commitment of effort. Where the speculator follows market trends, the investor uses discipline, research, and his analytical ability to make unpopular but sound investments in bargains relative to current asset value. Graham coaches the investor to develop a rational plan for buying stocks and bonds, and he argues that this plan must be a bulwark against emotional behavior that will always be tempting during abrupt bull and bear markets.

Since it was first published in 1949, Graham's investment guide has sold over a million copies and has been praised by such luminaries as Warren E. Buffet as "the best book on investing every written." These accolades are well deserved. In its new form--with commentary on each chapter and extensive footnotes prepared by senior Money editor, Jason Zweig--the classic is now updated in light of changes in investment vehicles and market activities since 1972. What remains is a better book. Graham's sage advice, analytical guides, and cautionary tales are still valid for the contemporary investor, and Zweig's commentaries demonstrate the relevance of Graham's principles in light of 1990s and early twenty-first century market trends. --Patrick O'Kelley

Review

“By far the best book on investing ever written.” (Warren Buffett)

“If you read just one book on investing during your lifetime, make it this one” (Fortune)

“The wider Mr. Graham’s gospel spreads, the more fairly the market will deal with its public.” (Barron's)

Most helpful customer reviews

I actually have the PDF file of this book (on my smartphone and tablet), but I think it's just not the same comparing to reading the paperback version. I actually hope they would make it hard cover, with stronger and durable paper materials since you will read it many many times.

I have novels in similar construct before and they tend to fall apart after couple of years. I guess I will buy another book if that does happen.

The content of the book of course is top notch, it feels like a nice conversation with Ben himself (along with little insert from his students). I have the PDF version of the book a year ago, been buying and testing many different stocks based on Graham teaching and have return anywhere from 30 to 150 percent (he is really conservative on his stock selection, but the main thing is mentality and not to sway by the market). I guess most of fund managers on wall street are too impatient for this type of investing techniques.

I am thinking about not making contribution to RRSP funds in the future, and just self direct TFSA trading all the way until I retire.

This book is a very helpful discussion of the basic philosophy of SENSIBLE investing. Graham explains why preservation of capital is a vital component of any investment plan, and how to achieve it. There may be people who achieve much better returns than Graham, but do they sleep at night? Read Graham, follow his advice and you will not need the Valium or Pepto. His explanations just make so much sense that, if you are not as greedy as a politician, you soon understand what to do in the market.

When it comes to the subject of investment, one cannot speak about it without mentioning the household name, Warren Buffett. After all, this is a man who had made himself the second richest man in the world solely by investing money in companies. It is through learning more about Buffett that lead me to Benjamin Graham and his investment classic, The Intelligent Investor. In this 2003 updated edition, supplementary commentaries and footnotes were added throughout the book by Jason Zweig, a senior writer at Money magazine. This updated edition offers a fresh look at an investment classic, and convinces the reader that the book is still relevant 33 years after Graham’s last revision.

Let me begin then with an observation. Nowadays, just about everybody who has worked a day job knows about putting their money in the stock market. There are some who does it out of greed, some out of fear, but the vast majority does it just because everybody else is doing the same thing! It appears to me that only a tiny group of minorities are really making intelligent investment decision. What about the rest? They buy/sell when they feel like it. Emotion is their chief investment advisor, and they listen to it religiously. Is it any wonder that the financial market behaves the way it does? Good news, because one will learn from Graham that the sillier the market’s behavior, the greater the opportunity for the business-life investor.

Graham begins by laying out the foundational definition of investment versus speculation. “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.Read more ›

Years ago I read David Chilton's "The Wealthy Barber" and was instantly hooked by its accessibility and plain common sense regarding investing and financial planning. If the "The Wealthy Barber" was grade school, "The Intelligent Investor" is college. Not nearly as accessible, but so much more fulfilling and useful in everyday terms. This most recent edition ups the ante even further by including commentary from financial writer Jason Zweig, updating Graham's classic text with examples from the boom and bust of 1996-2001. Graham explains the principles of value investing clearly and with passion for his subject. As Santayana wrote, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." Graham knows his history, and provides this guidebook for how to spare yourself that doom. I enjoyed every minute of it, and learn something from it every time I pick it up.

I was deciding between getting this edition or the more expensive hardbound edition (which does not contain the Jason Zweig commentaries). I naturally thought, why not go for the cheaper one and get the commentary for free? After all, I could just ignore the commentary if it doesn't help.Bad bad choice. It was like choosing between a Beethoven CD and the same CD but with free shrieking commentary by a Damon Wayans movie character during and in between each symphony.Zweig's writing when inserted between Graham's is like the annoying paperclip in MS Office, except there is no way to turn it off. He's in the footnotes (virtually every page!), he's in between every chapter. Open the book at a random page, and most likely you'll open it to a Zweig page.The content and style of his writing feels condescending and contrasts so much with Graham's. When reading Graham you have elegant timeless prose by a humble, wise man who makes you feel he is sincerely interested in your well-being. By contrast, Zweig feels like someone who wants to impress you with his word plays, and puns. He really should have attempted to recede into the background and limited his voice.I would recommend everyone to just buy the hardcover edition.Buy Graham only. If you cannot read Graham, Zweig will only help marginally, and you still need to verify his comments against other contemporary Graham commentators. Get another book. If you *can* read Graham, then you do not need the commentaries in this book. Any questions you may have can be answered in thousands of sites on the net.